Detroit — Detroit police issued an estimated 180 curfew tickets to juveniles on Monday when the city hosted its annual fireworks downtown, where a police officer shot an armed teenager, the police chief said Tuesday.
“We had a large juvenile presence that showed up. It was a good event,” Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told City Council Tuesday morning, referring to the Ford Fireworks event.
Detroit’s regular curfew runs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for juveniles 15 years and under, and from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for teenagers aged 16 and 17. A temporary curfew for unaccompanied minors of 8 p.m. for areas around the riverfront went into effect on Monday night and ended at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The city has imposed the same temporary curfew for the annual fireworks for at least a decade.
But this year, it sparked weeks of debate due to the rise of “teen takeovers,” a social media trend that brings crowds of teenagers to a certain location. So far this year, teen takeovers in Detroit have resulted in hundreds of juveniles gathering downtown and elsewhere, leading to vandalism, fights and one nonfatal shooting.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Bettison didn’t give an update on the teenager shot by a police officer early Monday night, hours before the fireworks began, around the intersection of Farmer and Bates streets, near downtown’s Cadillac Square. The teen was in serious condition in a local hospital on Monday night. The Detroit Police didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to a request for the suspect’s identity and condition.
Monday’s shooting marks the second consecutive year that gunfire rang out downtown ahead of the fireworks show. Last year, two people were hurt after police said a 19-year-old man opened fire after getting involved in a fight with a 17-year-old.
The incident began when police arrested a 19-year-old around 6:30 p.m. who was found with a weapon. The weapon was a GSG 22 rifle, according to a police source who wasn’t authorized to talk publicly.
During the arrest, another individual from the group began walking away from the area with his hands tucked in a way that gave officers reason to believe that individual was armed as well, Detroit police media director Jasmine Barmore said Monday.
The person fled on foot, and an officer, “fearing for his life and for the safety of the public,” fired at the person, Barmore said. The person was struck by bullets several times, she said.
The teen had a pistol, according to a police source who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. The Detroit Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether the shot teen had a license for the pistol.
Under the administration of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, the police department promised to release YouTube videos of each officer-involved shooting within 45 days of the incident, although the independent Board of Police Commissioners wanted the videos released more quickly. The “Critical Incident Community Briefings” involve any officer-involved shootings or uses of force that result in residents sustaining serious injuries or death.
Council member Mary Waters lobbies for curfew change
The estimated 180 juveniles ticketed for curfew violation on Monday was an increase from the 156 juveniles cited for violating the curfew during last year’s fireworks, a number Detroit police officials gave last week.
Councilwoman Mary Waters, one of two council members who voted against the temporary fireworks curfew, said she saw hundreds of unaccompanied teens at the fireworks Monday night and didn’t see any incidents of bad behavior.
She pointed out that the age of the teen shot by a police officer Monday, as well as the 19-year-old arrested for having a weapon, was above the age limit of the city curfew.
“The fireworks were beautiful, absolutely beautiful,” Waters said.
Yet many youth “couldn’t be there to have that experience … simply because of the curfew,” she said.
“I want us to change that,” Waters added.
Councilwoman Renata Miller said she attended Monday’s fireworks and praised the police, calling the fireworks “safe” and “incident-free.”
“We didn’t have to run, duck, dive or fear for our lives or even see residents react to the wild booming of the M-80 sounds,” Miller said.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer George Hunter contributed.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: 180 minors violated Detroit’s curfew on fireworks day, police chief says
Reporting by Louis Aguilar and Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Louis Aguilar and Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
